Judeans and Samarians at Tahpanhes Speculating on the Identity of the King in Papyrus Amherst 63 Col. XVII

Abstract

In this short article, I offer a speculative identification for the unnamed king who receives a caravan of Judeans and Samarians in Papyrus Amherst 63 col. xvii and the location where the royal site where the meeting might have occurred. Through a close reading of this passage and a comparison with a similar account of Judean and Samarian migration in Jer 40–44, I argue that the caravan arrives at Tahpanhes, modern day Tell Dafana, an important royal outpost in the Nile’s eastern delta. The king was most likely a member of the Saite dynasty, perhaps Apries, who is said to have come to Judah’s aid in the early 6th century ʙᴄᴇ and whose military exploits are recorded in two stelae that have recently been discovered at Tell Dafana.